S&P PRIVATELY WARNING OF PRE-DEFAULT DOWNGRADE TO US RATING

Yesterday Moody's came out with a warning on the US AAA rating,
though it basically said that a failure to raise the debt ceiling
by Aug 2 wouldn't necessarily result in a downgrade. Any kind of
"technical" default would certainly result in a downgrade.

Even if Treasury avoids a technical default (continuing to make
interest payments), the US rating could be toast. S&P's
John Chambers has met with top Senate
Democrats and the Chamber of Commerce (presumably to get the
business organization to put pressure on lawmakers).